


The Little Drummer Boy

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Advent Calendar, Advent Challenge 2011, Childhood, Christmas Music, Egypt, Gen, Music, Musical Instruments, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-11
Updated: 2011-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-28 05:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Greg wants to learn to play the drums</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Little Drummer Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Advent Calendar day 11

Greg's mother had just found him a new piano teacher, and he was going to start lessons after the New Year. For a little while, Greg had considered asking to also take drum lessons, but after the fuss his father had raised over his "frivolous" piano lessons, he thought better of it.

Still, he couldn't stop his fingers from tapping the beat as the children's choir sang the Little Drummer Boy song. He hadn't expected to hear Christmas Carols in Egypt, but it turned out that there was a decent sized Coptic population there, which he had since thoroughly researched.

Copts made up about ten percent of Egypt's population, but that was more than any other country in the area, and their practices dated back to Roman occupation, which Greg found fascinating. Particularly near the base, there were quite a few Coptic churches, and Greg and his mother had chosen one at which to attend Christmas Eve mass.

His father was on duty, for which Greg was secretly pleased, as he would not have to maintain his perfect 'John junior' image, but could enjoy the service. Even though the words were heavily accented, they were in English (about a third of the songs had been) and the 'pa rum pum pum pum' bits were easy enough to identify.

Greg didn't think his mother had noticed his finger drumming, but the next morning, after opening his presents, he discovered he had been wrong. Tucked beneath his piano books, where his father would not look, he found a beginner's guide to hand drumming. There was no name, but inside the front cover, in his mother's neat handwriting, were the words, "Merry Christmas."

**Author's Note:**

> And, the song:
> 
> Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum  
> A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum  
> Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
> To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  
> rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
> 
> So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
> When we come.
> 
> Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum  
> I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum  
> I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
> That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  
> rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
> 
> Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,  
> On my drum?
> 
> Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum  
> The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum  
> I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum  
> I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
> rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
> 
> Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum  
> Me and my drum.


End file.
